How do you defend those people?

"How do you defend those people?" This is the question I am most often asked. Depending on my mood, and the tone of the question, I may be engaged or irritated by it. Most often people are just genuinely baffled and interested, how could someone defend the indefensible?

There are times that it is easy. When my client is actually innocent, seeking their vindication is a pure, unalloyed exercise in securing their freedom; it feels great. A client who is actually innocent is, however, a very rare thing. I have had many, many clients be found not guilty, but very few who were actually innocent. These can be harder to defend.

The most difficult situations, ethically and spiritually, for me are when 1) the client is accused of hurting a child, 2) the evidence is overwhelming, and 3) the client is completely unrepentant. As a criminal defense lawyer my charge is not to seek justice for my client (that's the prosecutor's job...yeah, right); it is to zealously defend them, and within the bounds of the law and ethics, to seek the result the client wants, e.g.: acquittal or light sentence. When a client hits on the three factors I have identified above, there is a part of me, occasionally a significant part, that wants to vomit every time is see this person. There is a part of me that wants to scream, "There is no excuse, no justification for what you did, at least find the one decent fiber in your body, and at least say you're sorry!" Needless to say, I keep these thoughts to myself.

So what do I do? I remind myself that I was not put on this earth to judge others. Maybe this person, that in society's eyes is the lowest of the low, will go to heaven. I don't know if they will or not, but I do know that it is not up to me to decide. So I try not to judge. I remind myself of who Christ brought his ministry to: thieves, prostitutes, society's refuse. These are the people that truly need Christian love, these are the people that need someone to care about them, these are the people that when the rest of the world is ready to turn their back, need to someone to speak for them, need someone to say this person is a human being, and a child of God. You may despise them and what they did, but they are still entitled to be treated with respect and decency.

And I treat my clients with respect and decency. I listen to them. I talk to them. Over and over again, after I sit with a client and hear their story, and listen patiently and without judgment, they get a look in their eye, a look of wonderment and disbelief. They are amazed because no one has ever done this for them before, no one has ever taken the time to listen, and to care. I remember over and over again, Christ's exhortation "Whatsoever you do to the least among you, you do unto me". There is no one more weak and vulnerable, and in need of Christian care, than someone caught up in the criminal justice system.

I also focus on the things in court that I truly have some control over. It's my own version of the "Serenity Prayer", I suppose. Clients always want to know what is going to happen, are they going to get off, what are their chances. I almost never answer these kinds of questions. I don't answer these kinds of questions because nobody except God knows what the outcome of a particular trial will be. One of the few promises I will make to my clients is that I will protect their rights. They will have a zealous defense. I will fight and fight hard for them. If their rights have been trampled on by a coerced confession, or improperly seized evidence, or anything else, I will do everything humanly possible to vindicate that right. The rest I leave up to God.

Finally, I trust in God to bring about the just and fair result. I know that whatever I do in the courtroom, the final outcome is in God's hands. If God wants my client incarcerated, I know there is nothing I can do about it. If my client is supposed to walk out a free man, God will ensure that happens. Ultimately, I know that justice and judgment are not found this world, but in the eternal life that God has promised us. If a client that I think is guilty is acquitted, I know that this life will pass in the blink of an eye, and they will face their true judgment before our Father. If a client who is innocent goes to jail, although this is heartbreaking, I take comfort that the last shall be first, and in heaven they truly will be free.

So, that's how I defend those people.

Peace & blessings,

Matt